I'm Totally Lost...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

What Our Profession Stands For

In my opinion... Public Relations is meant for just that... the PUBLIC! The people that we are trying to help... the people we represent... the people that we ultimately work for, the PUBLIC. Last time I checked, it is hard to make it big and become a millionare in this profession without doing things that might not be to code as ethical. Sure, hard work should pay off... but what should a PR professional get more satisfaction out of? The fact that their work can help millions, or even just one person, or the fact that their bank account is in the 6 figures? I am not afraid to stand up and say we are here for others... not for ourselves. There have been people in our class... that obviously do not feel the same way. They are willing to take the road that leads to money and fame that travel the road less taken. Robert Frost was right when he described this road as rocky and unpaved. The honest and moral road is not meant to be easy... if it was, everyone would travel it... In a world where the media is losing the public's faith and loyalty, we as professionals must portray a sense of devotion as well as ethical behavior. We are in the public's eye... we are the example... do what's right and set it high. Your children might one day follow in your footsteps... where do want them to go? The road that is easy, or the road less traveled.I want to make a difference. How can I make I difference if I do the same thing as everyone else?

Money Speaks Loud...

I have heard the saying, "Money makes the world go round," so many times in the past that I had started to believe it. Until this class. Where as I do still believe that money is an important part of everyday life, the only reason that is tru is because that is how we have made the world. I have always been a true believer that the Lord will provide me with what he intends me to have, but accepting money for an unethical cause is one of his many tricks and tests. I cannot stress how much I hate finances. There are so many businesses now that claim to be non-profit organizations, such as the Lance Armstrong Foundation, that are only non-profit in front of the curtain. Behind the scenes is a different story however. Millions of dollars are dumped into these organizations to "help" those in need. And while some of this donated money does go towards this cause, just as much, if not more money is fed to the pockets of those responsible. This to me is unethical. The reason a person should join a non-profit organzization is becauise they care more about helping those in need than increasing their yearly salary. If you care that much about money and that little about the people you are working for, then your in the wrong profession.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Pandemic Flu...

While I understand the idea behind the fear of a pandemic flu, I am not sure if I think it will ever happen. I mean in a world where teachers tell students that missing more than three days of class will result in being dropped from the class and jobs require doctors excuses for every little absence, I would not be surprised if a flu pandemic broke out. Today, sicknesses like the flu and colds are so common that not everyone is going to go to the doctor everytime they catch a little bit of a bug. Also, with the pay rate in today's society, workers can't really afford to be missing work either. They have to work rain or shine sick or healthy just to make a living for a three person family. This results in not only othher workers getting sick, but the spouse's work place gets a round of it along with the child's school. The chances could increase exponentially and it would be very easy to have a pandemic as a result. Now in my lifetime, I don't know if this will ever happen, we still have enough flu vaccinations and such to knock out the majority of the threat. But I'm sure that the future will have something evem better.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Porn Decisions

WOW... this is going to be a little awkward considering I grew up in a sort of liberal household. My grandparents pretty much raised me, and just like Libba, the only thing that came through the TV was fun for the whole family type of shows. Disney Channel, saturday morning cartoons, and every once in a while, Charlie's Angels and Murder She Wrote was acceptable viewing materials for a nine year old!However, my mother gave birth to me very young. 19 years old is only a fraction of a girl's life, and she still had a lot of living to do. I can remember my mom coming in from concerts at 4 in the morning. I told you this, just so you can maybe get a grasp on what I am about to say.I in no way think that the pornography industry, or the prositution industry is ethical. However, prostitution is the oldest profession in the book, and it probably will always be around. People need to come to terms with this! Pornography, to me, is just prostitution made public. These people are getting paid to provide sexual enjoyment for others, in more ways than one. Ethically, Marriot and other hotel industries are doing nothing unethical. They are not producing the porn themselves, they are only making it available to those who wish to fulfill whatever needs they may have. I do believe, however, that there should be a more secure method of purchasing these shows. Perhaps at check-in, a code could be provided to an adult of legal age in case they wished to purchase any sort of rated R or NC-17 rated films. There are ways to create a more secure method. In the long run, creating this option and making pornography available to those who wish to partake in viewing it, might help the actual industry of face-to-face prostitution and escort services to deplete. If a television viewing is available for $3.95, people might not be so inclined to spend hundreds of dollars on escort services where diseases could be spread. Also, it creates a more safe environment for the people participating in these professions. Don't get me wrong, there are some harmful and hurtful actions that go on within the porn process, I'm not saying that, but it would help take porn professions such as prostitution off the street.

Wal-Mart 'Flogged' Up!

Well, I'm going a little out of order here on my blog topics, but this one is just too good to miss!I can't help but question why Edelman Worldwide thought that this would be a okay. I mean, the WOMMA Code of Ethics SPECIFICALLY states, "Honesty of identity: You never obscure your identity." How hard is it to abide by this simple rule?This whole ordeal just aids in proving that in today's corporate world, it is difficult to place trust in almost any business. The name of Wal-Mart has been around long enough that true customers and consumers should be able to feel a sense of comfort when doing business with Wal-Mart. Fake bloggers are not a necesity for this company.I completely agree with blogger and author Steven Taylor when he stated, "If you were newbies just getting your proverbial feet wet in the blogosphere, that'd be one thing, but for your agency, one that prides itself on being plugged in to the Web 2.0/social-media world, to have made this sort of crass mistake is a bit shocking." This is a mistake that experienced PR professionals should not have knowingly made. It is unethical in more than one plane of thought!It is kind of disturbing that the PRSA is finding it difficult to take any action as well. I understand that they are all in "uncharted waters," as Mr. Rand noted, but there should have been some kind of plan for this, or atleast some range of action that they could have taken. If the actual PR Association can't come through with some sort of punishment or plan of action, then who can?

Monday, October 09, 2006

Ethical Recall

Well, I'm sure everyone has heard about the recent volountary recalls of a certain carrot juice brand, and a certain brand of California lettuce. Well, in my opinion, the companies did the ethical thing by recalling all of the possibly contaminated lettuce and juices volountarily. It shows that they really care about the public and their consumers enough to react so quickly and so effectively. I also think that it is really cool that they have also already tracked the problem to the source. Of course, I am no Einstein, but I don't know how your water can all the sudden get a bad case of e. coli! That is beyond my understanding, but oh well... that's what they have professionals for... This case just reminded me of the recent studies we are doing about PETA and the corn cases,

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Internships

Since I am a fifth year senior, I have really been thinking about internships. I know a lot of people who have already done internships, but I did not become a public relations student until i was already a junior...

So anyways... I was researching online for tips on internships. I came across one website that said I shoud look for an internship in a non-profit organization because they have the highest demand for interns... because it is free work. Here is my question though, what if your the type of person in the type of situation where you have to have some sort of income to live. To pay rent, to buy groceries, to cloth, feed and keep me warm. How do people make time to work a job that doesn't pay them anything, and then also get an internship, or another job that does pay them enough to live? If anybody can give me some advice or help me out with this, please let me know, because if it is just a matter of working two part time jobs during the summer, then I can handle that!

I Would Be Mad...

While I was studying for the test, I ran across something that, I guess I didn't pay attention to the first time read through chapter 3. If I were Ivy Ledbetter Lee, I would be kind of bitter towards Edward Bernays. The whole, "father of public relations," thing, Lee is the rightful owner of that title.

I can undertand why Lee was never considered the father of public relations. The concept of public relations was fairly young and the term had not really been coined yet. And even though Lee was not the best guy in the world, he seems like he was a more ethical and selfless person than Bernay was. I don't know, I just had the fact that he provided that basic foundations of the idea, and he didn't really get any recognition for it until after it was too late for him to really get to appreciate it. I guess that it a big part of public relations, I actually already said that in my last post!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

I Think I Got It

I think I finally have a good defiinition in my head of what PR can be defined as... I put this on my blogger as well... PR at its best is the business of creating a public opinion for a businesses private advantage. It is using the media, whether it be newspapers, magazines, books, or advertisements to portray and achieve a client's marketing goal.It took me a while to come up with this, and I did have some help from a few books and sources. I would like your opinion as to if I am on the right track with this definition or not. Thank you.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

They Had No Clue...

So I went and asked three people outside of the journalism field what they thought public relations was and if they could identify a person in PR. The answers I got were all the same, "Public relations is people advertising for other people. They try and make somebody look good, like celebrities." This definition is not totally wrong though. Public relations does consist of trying to make the public see a positive side of whatever it is they are focused on. The best part of this assignment was the answers to the second part... if they could name someone in the career. Here is what I was told...Brian L.(23 years old) - "The president? Is the president one of 'em?"Leah L.(41 years old) - "Those sorry s.o.b.'s who try and make those rich celebrities look good even though they are all hoochie mommas."and last but not least...Jan M.(25 years old) - "Well I don't know but it sounds like they make a lot of money."I could not believe that people really had no clue what PR really was... the definition wasn't too far off, but WOW! I feel so alone...

I'm Totally Lost...

About Me

I am 22 years old. I am a born and raised Texas girl. I love to be out in the country where there is so much freedom and open land. Of course it is awful brown back home now. I like to snow ski and I am trying to learn how to wakeboard. Family is one of the most important things to me. I will be famous one day!